Kate Chopin - Research Paper Example

Awakening the Female in Kate Chopin’s Works Instructor name Date Abstract Kate Chopin lived and worked in a time when women were not expected to work or do anything for themselves. For many overworked women today, this may seem like an ideal situation…

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On the rare occasion when one 'woke up' from her enforced dullness, she was either reduced in social status, ruined forever, or killed by the restrictions keeping her from remaining fully awake. These are the issues Chopin explores in her work, reminding us, even now, of the need to protect women's rights and freedoms. Awakening the Female in Kate Chopin’s Works Perhaps the greatest single characteristic of the Victorian age was its nature as an era full of strong contradictions. These contradictions are often captured in the works of female writers working during this time period. As the greater world of farm and commerce changed around them, women as a gender began to question their expected roles in society and began demanding more opportunities available for personal fulfillment. This wasn't simply a selfish desire to follow their own dreams, although this was a factor. It was also a recognition of the fact that many women found it necessary to have more options open to them for self-support and for the greater welfare of their families. Although women throughout time had found various ways to make it on their own, it was rarely possible for them to attain both material comfort and personal independence without the interference of a man. These are issues that figure prominently in women's writing of the time, such as in the work of Kate Chopin. Within her short stories and novels, Chopin reveals deep meaning and strong feminism embedded within the text due to her careful use of perspective and imagery. Her talent enables her to ‘paint a picture’ of life as it was experienced in that moment. Her stories gain their strength by focusing on key elements of the environment in which the characters move and through the special attention she gives to just how the story should be told. Her style enables the reader to experience the various constraining forces, both material and psychological, that were experienced by women of her time and illustrates why they would want to escape from it. These ideas are easily discovered in a comparison among some of Chopin's short stories, such as “The Story of an Hour” and "The Storm," and her novel Awakening as the women experience an awakening to their own long-hidden inner nature. The possibility that one can actually awake to a hidden inner self is the primary action of many of Chopin's works and can be easily found in her short short story "The Story of an Hour." The story begins with the introduction of a frail woman later discovered to be named Louise. Louise is sitting in her home's living room being told by her sister and a close family friend of the sudden death of her husband during a railroad accident. “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” (Chopin 199). Following her somewhat alarming outburst, Louise closes herself in her upstairs bedroom and sits in another chair looking out the window as she considers her new position as a widow. Her feelings toward her husband are revealed in this scene to have been strangely ambivalent: “And yet she had loved him – sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter?” (Chopin 201). The horror of her emptiness as a married woman is clearly expressed in her nearly emotionless assessment of what she’s lost in conjunction with her dawning realization that she is finally free to follow her own idea of happiness: “
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...number KateChopin's most important work, The Awakening, shall be looked into and analyzed in this paper. As part of this research, the inadequacies of the feminism that Chopin advocates through her female protagonist, Edna Pontellier shall be looked into. This does not however, mean that this paper totally nullifies the potential for revolution that The Awakening carries. Edna’s affairs with other men shall be looked into and how far enabling such a move on her part, actually is, and how far it plays into the prevailing norms of the time. The controversial ending of the novel shall also be looked into and problematized. Its implications and how it shapes the critic’s response to the...

...?[Your full full October 06, The Awakening “Published in 1899, The Awakening remains an important title in feminist literature” (Kniss). The Awakening by KateChopin is a story about a woman, Edna Pontellier, who is married and has two young sons. Her age is around 28 years and she is spending her vacations with her family at Grand Isle. The main point of this story is the change in the feelings of Edna. She begins to realize that her role in the society is not just restricted to her home and family. Rather she thinks that she is also a valuable part of the society who needs to fulfill her instinct desires instead of staying at home and taking care of children and husband. It does not mean that she does...

...?Desiree’s Baby by KateChopin Desiree’s Baby with an unexpected twist in the end tells us about presumptions made as effects of racial discriminations. Racism in all ages has caused pain and destruction of relationships. This story was written at a time when interracial relationships were not accepted by the society. When Armand noticed that the baby has African-American blood, he instantly came to his own conclusion of Desiree’s family heritage. The story ends with a deserving lesson for Armand. Desiree who was abandoned at birth was adopted by the Valmondes. She later on gets married to Armand Aubigny. Initially they have a happy married life. They seemed to be a devoted couple and then eventually...

...? Awaken Vagina number Awaken Vagina One of the foremost American of the nineteenth century, KateChopin wrote stories that explored sexuality and its role in the social institution of the marriage. The themes of adultery and fidelity form a great part of her work. The ideals of the Victorian age inform much of her stories and the characterization in her work. The women characters of her stories seek to break out of the conventional roles that are set for them by the Victorian society. They are however, restricted by their economic constraints due to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the men in the family, a feature of all patriarchal societies including the Victorian society. Even though the...

...?Topic: Critical Analysis about KateChopin Overview of KateChopinKateChopin is a female of the 20th century and has written many novels which have become noteworthy and famous. She was born in St.Louis inthe state of Missouri from America and was author of novels and short stories. One of the famous novels by Kate is “The Awakening”. She write for every type of crowd and both children and adults enjoyed her creative skill in writing. However, her work was more appreciated after her death in 1904.Her stories and novels were published in well known magazines of America and readers were fond of her writings .Her...

...The Storm by KateChopinKateChopin’s story “The Storm” is a short, but a transfixing tale that explores a superfluity of tumultuous sensations of the protagonists engrossed in the middle of the milieu of a sudden “storm”. Despite its streaks of connotation of budding of feminism, the story echoes more of subjugated women of the 19th century triumphed by male dominion. Women rediscover the right over their bodies and their desired social affairs. In KateChopin’s “The Storm”, sexuality and marriage form a major theme of the story. She utilizes the subject of prohibited love to tell a tale that reflects the author’s ideology. She makes...

...When one thinks of The Awakening by KateChopin, a story of a women trying to free herself from the shackled of society comes to mind. Edna was a women trying to free herself from the women hating culture of the time, and trying to escapes and be her own. KateChopin writes the book as a piece of feminist literature, and by doing so totally ignores the needs of the other male characters of the book. In doing so, she managed to write a slanted, one sided piece of feminist literature.
However, Edna has a husband, one who is walked on just as much, if not even more by the protagonist of the story. When one first looks at the book, his character may not seem that important,...

...THE AWAKENING The novel was first published in the year 1899, when KateChopin was at the peak of her popularity. Though much of her writings had controversial matters depicted in it as narrative reporting, this novel was not of such kind. The novel provides a different view toward the actions and emotions of the independent protagonist. The open discussion of emotional and sexual needs of women in the novel had a shocking impact on the readers of her time and was eventually not received well. But after some fifty years, people began to view the novel in a new angle accepting the notions of female sexuality and equality thus promoting the work as a classic.
The protagonist of the novel suddenly seems to...

...﻿The Awakening by KateChopin
When one thinks of The Awakening by KateChopin, a story of a women trying to free herself from the shackled of society comes to mind. Edna was a women trying to free herself from the women hating culture of the time, and trying to escapes and be her own. KateChopin writes the book as a piece of feminist literature, and by doing so totally ignores the needs of the other male characters of the book. In doing so, she managed to write a slanted, one sided piece of feminist literature.
However, Edna has a husband, one who is walked on just as much, if not even more by the protagonist of the story. When one...

... The Awakening One of KateChopin’s exceptional works is The Awakening. The story explores the concept of oppression of women by male domination in the 1800s. The book centers on New Orleans in the 1800s. The story revolves around the life of Edna and her Husband, Mr. Pontellier. However, the focus is on Edna’s experimentation with freedom, which allows her to express he sexual aspects in a world where women are largely encouraged to avoid doing so. As such, one of the key themes represented throughout this book is the freedom of expression from a feminist’s perspective, and the concept of male domination. As such, The Awakening reviews the role of freedom in the contemporary society. The story also explores the concept of art... and a...

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